These duck croquettes are the perfect way to use up any leftover duck or other meats.
Moist, shredded duck is wrapped in a rich béchamel sauce, flavoured with mace and thyme and then breaded with panko.
With a crispy crunchy outside and a soft tasty middle, these little morsels are delicious for any occasion.
Bon appétit.
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❤️ Why you will love this dish
- Easy to use different meats.
- Perfect for leftovers.
- Delicious as a starter, lunch or snack.
- Freezes well.
I am always seduced by anything fried in breadcrumbs, and with duck being a favourite meat, I couldn't think of a better combination of flavours and textures.
This is a great dish for using leftovers, but for this dish I am using confit duck legs cooked from scratch. This makes 12 rather large croquettes, which are great for freezing as well.
You can serve these with dips as a starter, snack or with a salad for lunch.
🤔FAQs
Croquettes originated in France, where they were made to use up leftover cooked meat, or more often, mashed potato.
Some believe that Spain invesnted croquettes or croquetas, and these are always made with a béchamel sauce and often include ham and cheese.
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🥘 Ingredients
- Duck - duck legs. These are widely available in packs of two and the slow roasted meat is full of flavour and keeps moist.
- Flour - plain or all purpose flour.
- Milk - ideally whole milk for the best flavour.
- Butter - salted or unsalted butter. If you use salted, adjust the seasoning.
- Breadcrumbs - dried panko breadcrumbs. These Japanese style breadcrumbs are flaked pieces of bread, rather than smaller crumbs. This gives them a better crispy coating when breading.
- Seasoning - flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. However, French cuisine often calls for white pepper in sauces. This is totally your preference.
- Mace - this is the outer coating of nutmeg and usually comes in a yellow brown powder or as 'blades', the nane of the lacy coating. It is very similar to nutmeg but not quite as sweet, making it perfect in savoury dishes. It's not available in all supermarkets, but is easy to buy online. It is easier to buy ground mace for this or use nutmeg.
- Thyme - dried thyme or any other herb you prefer.
- Oil - vegetable or similar oil for frying.
- Eggs - free range eggs.
- Shallot - a long shallot, which has a sweet flavour, which won't overpower the duck.
The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.
🍽 Equipment
- whisk
- wooden spoon
- small saucepan
- medium roasting dish
- aluminium foil
- 20 centimetre / 8 inch square cake pan
- plastic wrap
- frying pan
- sharp knife
- chopping board
- parchment paper
- kitchen paper
🔪 Instructions
Pat the duck legs dry with kitchen paper.
Use a skewer or carving fork to poke holes in the flesh and season with salt and pepper.
This will allow the fat to drain away as the duck cooks, which will keep it really moist..
The skin will protect the duck from drying out too.
Cover the dish with foil.
⏲️ Baking Time
Preheat the oven to 160 C / 310 F / 140 FAN / Gas 2.5 and cook for 1.5 - 2 hours until very tender.
While the duck is cooking prepare the béchamel sauce.
Peel and finely chop the shallot.
Put the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the shallots.
Cook for a few minutes until just softened then turn off the heat and set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the flour.
Cook for a minute, stirring.
Add the milk gradually, stirring to make a smooth sauce.
At first, the mixture will resist, but keep stirring, taking it off the heat if necessary.
Keep cooking and whisk until smooth.
The sauce should eventually be the consistency of mashed potato.
This will take a few minutes.
Leave the mixture to cool.
When the duck is tender remove from the oven.
Use 2 forks to shred the meat.
I prefer to remove the skin as it will lose its crispiness in the filling.
Add the duck to the sauce, along with the mace and thyme.
Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
Line the square pan with plastic wrap and add the filling.
Smooth into an even layer then chill for 2 hours to firm up the mixture.
Place the flour, panko and beaten eggs in 3 separate bowls.
Divide the mixture into 12 and use floured hands to form into a sausage shape.
Dip in the flour then egg and then breadcrumbs, then place on parchment on a plate.
Chill for 30 minutes.
Heat the oil in the frying pan and fry the duck croquettes for about 10 minutes, turning regularly until golden brown all over.
Drain any excess oil on kitchen paper and then enjoy with your favourite dip.
🥗 Side Dishes
Serve the duck croquettes with a light salad or even as an accompaniment to duck meat dishes, such as duck confit or spatchcock duck.
- Saffron Sauce Grimrod
- Sauce Choron
- Mousseline Sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Sauce Pistou
- Dijon Mustard Sauce
- Thermidor Sauce
- Sauce Forestière
- Garlic Butter Sauce
- Béarnaise Mayo
- Hollandaise Sauce
🥙 Substitutions
- Panko - use regular dried breadcrumbs.
- Mace - use ground nutmeg.
📖 Variations
- Meat - leftover pulled pork, beef or shredded chicken would be delicious. Any leftover game birds, such as pigeon or pheasant would work too.
- Flavours - experiment with different herbs such as parsley, tarragon or mixed herbs. Add extra flavour with chilli powder, grated cheese or mustard.
🍣 Storage
- Refrigerator - keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer - wrap well and store for up to a month. Deforst overnight in the rerigerator.
- To reheat - place on a baking sheet and reheat in the oven at 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 for about 15 minutes or until piping hot.
🍱 Prepare in Advance
- Cook in advance and reheat as above.
Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais
More light bite ideas
📋 Recipe
Duck Croquettes
Equipment
- whisk
- wooden spoon
- small saucepan
- medium roasting dish
- Aluminium foil
- 20 centimetre / 8 inch square cake pan
- plastic wrap
- frying pan
- sharp knife
- chopping board
- parchment paper
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 duck legs
- 175 g flour
- 400 ml milk
- 60 g butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon mace or nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon thyme dried
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 shallot
For breading
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 2 eggs
- 75 g panko breadcrumbs
- 200 ml oil
Instructions
- Pat the duck legs dry with kitchen paper. Use a skewer or carving fork to poke holes in the flesh and season with salt and pepper. Cover the dish with foil.
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / 310 F / 140 FAN / Gas 2.5 and cook for 1.5 - 2 hours until very tender. Use 2 forks to shred the meat.
- Peel and finely chop the shallot.
- Put the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the shallots. Cook for a few minutes until just softened then turn off the heat and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the flour. Cook for a minute, stirring.
- Add the milk gradually, stirring to make a smooth sauce.
- Keep cooking and whisk until smooth. The sauce should eventually be the consistency of mashed potato.
- Leave the mixture to cool.
- Add the duck to the sauce, along with the mace and thyme. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
- Line the square pan with plastic wrap and add the filling. Smooth into an even layer then chill for 2 hours to firm up the mixture.
- Place the flour, panko and beaten eggs in 3 separate bowls.
- Divide the mixture into 12 and use floured hands to form into a sausage shape.
- Dip in the flour then egg and then breadcrumbs, then place on parchment on a plate.
- Chill for 30 minutes.
- Heat the oil in the frying pan and fry for about 10 minutes, turning regularly until golden brown all over.
- Drain any excess oil on kitchen paper and then enjoy with your favourite dip
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Detailed instructions for this recipe, including step by step photographs, hints and tips, can be found in the main article.
Brunch & Light Bites
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Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using gas.
Do you have a question or did you make the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. Your name and email are required to avoid spam comments; they are never used for any purpose or shared with third parties.
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Dana Sandonato
These look great and sound SO easy! Thanks for the recipe! I can't wait to try them.
Ali
I LOVE croquettes, but never tried them with duck before! Can’t wait to make these for my Christmas get together!
Beth
I have never seen anything like this in my life. I love duck, and it sounds so good! I'm definitely giving it a try.
Elisa
Very interesting this duck croquette recipe, I have never tried duck so will definitely make this to try them, this recipe looks delicious and easy to make. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Nathan
I rarely cook with duck, but this recipe looks so tasty I just added it to my shopping list! Can't wait to try this out, thanks so much for sharing 🙂